Smart Snapping

ABSTRACT

A platform allows experts, for example home improvement professionals, to upload their portfolios, i.e. content such as photos, videos, text, and sound, to a publicly available resource, such as a Web browser accessible, network based commerce system. Users may then browse the content, for example by room, style, and metro area. The content is arranged in collections that are in part passively sorted, based upon user relevance. Tags are shown on objects, for example within photos, for which there is more information. In the case of a movable display device, the tags can simulate the physics of real tags, for example they can move back and forth when the device is shaken. In another embodiment, a snap point is set to impart either a scrolling transition or a step transition between display pages, based upon user scroll activity.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/472,409, filed May 15, 2012, which claimspriority to provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/567,012, filedDec. 5, 2011, each of which is incorporated herein in its entirety bythis reference thereto.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

Te invention relates to the interactive organization and presentation ofcontent within a semi-supervised expert domain. More particularly, theinvention relates to the consistent presentation of content and passiverelevance determination of content relationship in an on-line commercesystem.

2. Description of the Background Art

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, eCommerce, or e-comm,refers to the buying and selling of products or services over electronicsystems such as the Internet and other computer networks. However, theterm may refer to more than just buying and selling products online. Italso includes the entire online process of developing, marketing,selling, delivering, servicing, and paying for products and services.

The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarilywith widespread Internet usage. The use of commerce is conducted in thisway, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer,supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transactionprocessing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory managementsystems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electroniccommerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at one point in thetransaction's life-cycle, although it may encompass a wider range oftechnologies such as e-mail, mobile devices, and telephones as well.

A large percentage of electronic commerce is conducted entirely inelectronic form for virtual items, such as access to premium content ona website, but mostly electronic commerce involves the transportation ofphysical items in some way. Online retailers are sometimes known ase-tailers and online retail is sometimes known as e-tail. Almost all bigretailers are now electronically present on the World Wide Web.

Electronic commerce that takes place between businesses is referred toas business-to-business or B2B. B2B can be open to all interestedparties, e.g. commodity exchange, or limited to specific, pre-qualifiedparticipants (private electronic market). Electronic commerce that takesplace between businesses and consumers, on the other hand, is referredto as business-to-consumer or B2C. This is the type of electroniccommerce conducted by companies such as Amazon.com. Online shopping is aform of electronic commerce where the buyer is directly online to theseller's computer, usually via the Internet. There is no intermediaryservice involved. The sale or purchase transaction is completedelectronically and interactively in real-time, such as in Amazon.com fornew books. However in some cases, an intermediary may be present in asale or purchase transaction such as the transactions on eBay.com.

Online shopping has evolved to the point that a specific user experienceis often provided for particular types of goods. Online shopping alsoincludes recommendations, user reviews, and other social aspects of thegoods listed on a particular site. Unfortunately, there is no way for auser to make much sense of the listed items because no thought goes intoarranging and presenting the items in a meaningful way relative to eachother across categories, nor is expert advice associated with the onlinesale of goods, nor is user interaction with the goods during theirpresentation considered in subsequent presentation of the goods.Further, most online commerce is presented in a format that belongs toan earlier era of the Internet, and that is not particularly welladapted for modern tablet and handheld devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The presently preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a platformthat allows experts, in this embodiment home improvement professionals,to upload their portfolios, i.e. content such as photos, videos, text,and sound, to a publicly available resource, such as a Web browseraccessible, network based commerce system. This content is uploaded byusing self-service tools. Users may then browse the content, such asphotos, by room, style, and metro area. Uniquely, the content, in thisexample the photos, is arranged in collections that are in partpassively sorted, based upon user relevance.

Further, an embodiment of the invention presents tags on objects inphotos for which there is, for example, more information, priceinformation, and/or product information. In the case of a movabledisplay device, the tags on the photo can simulate the physics of realtags, for example they can move back and forth when the device isshaken.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a is a screen shot showing a photo ad according to the invention;

FIG. 1 b is a further screen shot showing products listed in the photoad of FIG. 1 a;

FIG. 2 is an example of product ads according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a screen shot showing idea book recommendations according tothe invention;

FIG. 4 is a screen shot showing the recommending of new items that auser has not seen before according to the invention;

FIG. 5 a is a screen shot showing the suggesting of items related to anitem that is being shown according to the invention;

FIG. 5 b is a screen shot showing a Web site linked to from the photo inthe screen shot of FIG. 5 a;

FIG. 6 is a screen shot of a photo category page, as shown on a handhelddevice, according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a screen shot of a photo stream page, as shown on a handhelddevice, according to the invention;

FIG. 8 is a screen shot of a photo stream page for an individual photo,as shown on a handheld device, according to the invention;

FIG. 9 is a screen shot of a profile page, as shown on a handhelddevice, according to the invention;

FIGS. 10 a and 10 b are screen shots of a photo stream page for anindividual photo that has animated tags, as shown on a handheld device,according to the invention;

FIGS. 10 c and 10 d are screen shots of the photo ad page linked to theanimated tags of FIGS. 10 a and 10 a, as shown on a handheld device,according to the invention;

FIGS. 11 a-11 f are screen shots that show pages as displayed withsnapping (FIGS. 11 a and 11 b) and smart layout (FIG. 11 c) according tothe invention;

FIG. 11 d is a screen shot that shows scrolling without snapping betweenthe pages shown in FIGS. 11 a and 11 b;

FIG. 11 e is a screen shot that shows scrolling without snapping betweenthe page shown in FIGS. 11 b and 11 c;

FIG. 11 f is a screen shot that shows display of the page of FIG. 11 cwithout the use of the smart layout feature of the invention; and

FIG. 12 is a block schematic diagram of a machine in the exemplary formof a computer system within which a set of instructions for causing themachine to perform any one of the foregoing methodologies may beexecuted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The presently preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a platformthat allows experts, in this embodiment home improvement professionals,to upload their portfolios, i.e. content such as photos, videos, text,and sound, to a publicly available resource, such as a Web browseraccessible, network based commerce system. This content is uploaded byusing self-service tools. Users may then browse the content, such asphotos, by room, style, and metro area. Uniquely, the content, in thisexample the photos, is arranged in collections that are in partpassively sorted, based upon user relevance. This is accomplished in anembodiment by providing users with tools for creating idea books. Theidea books are produced when a user selects various photos in variouscategories for inclusion in their idea books.

The system monitors the user selection process to determinerelationships between items within photos in selected categories. Thesystem collates this information across the many users of the systemand, thus, passively determines user relevance. For example, in theembodiment concerning residential interior design, photos may beorganized in categories that correspond to the different rooms of ahouse, such as the bedroom, living room, etc. A user may proceed at theroom level, adding design elements, furniture, and the like to an ideabook for a particular room, for example the living room. Here, there aremany styles available to the user, such as classic, modern, European,Asian, and the like. The user's idea book selections are that user'sopinion as to design elements that may coordinate with each other, evenif they are selected from a variety of styles. The system makes note ofthese connections for each user and, in the process, identifiesuser-based groupings that may then lead to new categories and/orsuggestions to other users.

Further, this process may be applied across rooms, as well as styles. Inthis way, user idea book selections across a user population are used toidentify trends and tastes. This information can be used to createrecommendations, to reorganize content within categories, to create newcategories, and to alert design experts and vendors with regard to userpreferences.

In addition to passive determination of user relevance, an embodiment ofthe invention also allows user interaction with the content. Forexample, users may tag objects in photos and this information can beprocessed, as above for passive interactions, to organize and reorganizethe presentation of content.

Photos may also be tagged editorially with links to information aboutthe tagged objects. For example, a tag may provide a link to an expertdiscussion of the tagged object or to an expert in connection with theexpert's design services, a link to other objects that are relatedaesthetically to the object or that are thematically consistent with theobject, and/or a link to a distributor or manufacturer Website tofacilitate commerce in connection with the tagged object and/or relatedobjects. Further, the user may link to additional views of the taggedobject, obtain options, select different coverings for the object, suchas a different type of upholstery, which is then displayed in the photo,and save these objects in the user's idea book.

Thus, another unique aspect of the invention is the use of photo-basedadvertising. In contrast to banner ads, sidebars ads, pop-ads, and theother that populate the Web, the invention herein provides collectionsof photos that are related categorically and that are determined to berelevant by any or all of passive user interaction, user tagging, andexpert supervised tagging. In this embodiment of the invention, allcommunication is image based. Rather than have ads that pop out and graba user's attention, often annoyingly, an embodiment of the inventionpresents all photos, for example, in a collection in a consistentformat.

Tags

The photos in a category or grouping are of the same size and shape orsimilar in size and shape, the objects in the photos are allthematically and/or aesthetically related to all other photos in thecategory or grouping, the use of icons or tags to indicate links toadditional information is consistent. Thus, the user is presented with a‘walled garden’ in which the substance of each photo is the focus of thepresentation, and not the use of annoying or distracting attentiongetting devices. In this way, each ad itself looks like each other ad ina photo stream and the user may thus direct his attention to theperceived merits of the objects within the photos, and not the format ofpresentation of the photos.

Due to the relevance determination, filtering to a user query isprecise. If a user wants to view photos related to, for example, dens,and the user is interested in French contemporary styling, then thephoto stream presented to the user is constrained to relevant content,the content is consistently presented to allow the user to concentrateon the design elements within the photos and not on the presentation ofthe photos, and thus make a more natural and meaningful decision whenselecting objects for inclusion in the user's idea book, and the user isafforded the opportunity to link to additional information uponselecting tags within a particular photo.

In an embodiment, users are able to ask professionals questions aboutthe photos. Both users and an editorial team can tag the photos withproducts. Users can save photos to collections. Users can also browse avisual directory of professional service providers.

The tags presented to the user may be of various types. For example, theshape of the tag and/or color may be used to denote different classes ofinformation. Thus, a dollar sign shaped tag may denote a link forpurposes of commerce, a question mark may denote a link for expertadvice, and the like. Further, it is clear that hand held devices, suchas the iPad, are becoming increasingly popular and such devices areideally suited for use in connection with the invention hereindisclosed. For example, an embodiment of the invention provides motionsensitive tags that are activated when the display device, e.g. theiPad, is moved in a particular fashion, such as by shaking. Such actioncan make the tags appear, make the tags disappear, animate the tags, forexample where the tags move back and forth to draw attention to them. Inthis and other embodiments, the user may set preferences with regard tothe tags, for example, if animation is desired, if particular classes oftag are to be excluded or included, and if tag selection executes aparticular action, such as adding a reference to the user's idea book,or generating a purchase inquiry, and/or if tags should not be displayedat all, i.e. they may be turned off.

Thus, an embodiment of the invention presents tags on objects in photosfor which there is, for example, more information, price information,and/or product information. In the case of a movable display device, thetags on the photo can simulate the physics of real tags, for examplethey can move back and forth when the device is shaken (see FIGS. 11 aand 11 b, discussed below). In such case, the tags swing around arotation point using pendulum equations of motion, or approximatependulum equations of motions which are more computationally efficienton small devices, such as smartphones. In an embodiment, an approximatependulum equation of motion is:

thera″=−k theta−f theta′  (1)

where:

-   -   theta is the angle between the tag image orientation on the        gravity vector, either the true gravity vector derived from the        device sensors, or the apparent gravity direction derived from        the image orientation;    -   theta′ is the angular velocity;    -   theta″ is the angular acceleration;    -   k represents a pendulum spring coefficient; and    -   f represents a damping coefficient.

In an embodiment, the gravity direction in the image plane may becomputed using the device's accelerometers. The gravity direction may bethe gravity vector components in the image plane, or the down directiondepicted in the image if the gravity has no component in the imageplane, i.e. gravity is perpendicular to the image plane. The userinteracts with the tags by swinging them or tapping them. By using thedevice's accelerometers and an appropriate band pass filter within thedevice's software, a user shaking the device introduces accelerationelements and motion to the tags as if the tags where a pendulum that isbeing pushed/swung. Thus, the tags appear to swing side to side and/orin and out of the plane of the display. This same effect may be achievedthrough any other user action, such as using a sliding gesture to flipfrom one page to another on the display. Other embodiments of theinvention provide tags that mimic such real world phenomena, forexample, such as springs, e.g. tags that bounce when the device isshaken, spinners, e.g. tags that spin when the device is rotated, andanimation including starbursts, explosions, avatars, and the like.

Photo Ads

A common activity for those who use the invention is browsing photostreams. Users can filter photos by style (modern, traditional), space(kitchen, bedroom), and/or specify search terms (red sofa). In this caseuser is looking at modern family room photos. The photo ad unit isdesigned to be injected seamlessly into this stream. An example is shownin FIGS. 1 a and 1 b.

A photo ad has several components:

1. Promotional section contain information about the advertiser;

2. Photo; and

3. Products that are included in the photo.

Clicking on the photo leads to a page hosted by, for example houzz.comthat includes more information about the products on the photo (FIG. 1b). Users can click on “buy” button to purchase products on advertiser'sWeb site.

To make a photo ad appear seamless in the photo stream, it is importantto select ads that are contextually relevant. This is achieved by thefollowing:

1. Before a photo ad is run, the editorial team enter meta informationabout the photo, including:

-   -   Style (modern, traditional)    -   Space (kitchen, bedroom)    -   Title    -   Description    -   Information about each product

2. The system ad server uses contextual information to match metainformation in photo ad, including:

-   -   Style (modern, traditional) of the current photo stream    -   Space (kitchen, bedroom) of the current photo stream    -   Search terms (red sofa)    -   Meta information of the photos in stream, including style,        space, title, description, image tags, and product tags. The        meta information includes both editorial and community        contributed content.    -   User's past activities, e.g. on Houzz.com, including style,        space, search terms used before, and photos viewed. In the        example shown, a matching photo ad is selected because user is        browsing modern family room photos.

Product Ads

In this ad unit, a Web site such as Houzz.com, for example, showscontextually relevant products associated with photos. An example isshown in FIG. 2.

Similar to photo ads, the ad server uses meta information in photos(both editorial and community contributed content) to find appropriateProduct Ads).

Recommendations

In an embodiment, users can add photos/products to their idea books.When they are doing this, they are making implicit associations betweenitems (photos/products) in their collections (idea books) (see FIG. 3):

1. Items in same collection share some common attributes.

2. Items added by same user share some common attributes.

An embodiment applies collaborative filtering algorithms to find similaritems. For each item, there is a set of users who have added it to oneor more idea books. Given any two items, the system derives a similarityscore based on the intersection of the two user sets. The system canenhance the score with a similar calculation on the collections that areassociated with the items. Calculating similarity scores on every pairof items produces an item similarity matrix that can be used indifferent scenarios, e.g.:

1. Recommending new items that the user has not seen before (see FIG.4);

2. Suggesting items related to the item that is being shown (see FIG. 5a, which shows a recommendation and FIG. 5 b, which shows a productlinked to a tag in the photo on the screen shot of FIG. 5 a).

Because all of the implicit associations are analyzed, the system canproduce interesting results, including:

1. Related items in different categories, for example, products relatedto photos;

2. Identify new groups of items that strongly related to each other.

Exemplary Embodiment in a Handheld Device

FIG. 6 is a screen shot of a photo category page, as shown on a handhelddevice, according to the invention. In this embodiment, various homedesign related categories are shown. Other embodiments of the inventionmay provide appropriate categories for other domains, for exampleautomotive, gardening, etc.

FIG. 7 is a screen shot of a photo stream page, as shown on a handhelddevice, according to the invention. Once a category is elected, a photostream is presented. Here the user is shown two streams, i.e. Metro Areaand Style. Each of the streams may be further refined by user selectionof appropriate pull down menus.

FIG. 8 is a screen shot of a photo stream page for an individual photo,as shown on a handheld device, according to the invention. This photo isselected from the photo stream of FIG. 7. Here, the user is given theoption to add this photo to an idea book. The system monitors suchselections, as discussed above, to refine system categorization andrecommendations. The user is also provided with the option to seekinformation from a professional, such as the professional who preparedthis photo in the photo stream as part of the professional's portfolio.

FIG. 9 is a screen shot of a profile page, as shown on a handhelddevice, according to the invention. If the user selected informationabout the professional in FIG. 8, then this information is presented tothe user. The user is then presented with links to the professional'sphoto stream, projects, and other information.

FIGS. 10 a and 10 b are screen shots of a photo stream page for anindividual photo that has animated tags, as shown on a handheld device,according to the invention. Here, a photo of a bedroom is shown. thephoto may be added to the user's idea book. The user may also turn ontags within the photo. In this example, a fan is tagged. The tag isanimated to draw attention to the tagged object. In a photo having manyobjects, especially on a handheld device having a small display, theanimated tag draws attention to objects for which additional informationis available. As shown in FIG. 10 a the tag has tilted to the left inresponse to user movement of the device. the tag swings back and forthand tilts to the right, as shown in FIG. 10 b.

FIGS. 10 c and 10 d are screen shots of the photo ad page linked to theanimated tags of FIGS. 10 a and 10 a, as shown on a handheld device,according to the invention. In FIG. 10 c, the user has selected the tagfor the fan of FIGS. 10 a and 10 b and a more detailed photo of the fanis presented. The user is also provided with links to the product vendorand an on line store if a purchase of the product is desired. In FIG. 10d, the user has selected the vendor option and more information isprovided about the product.

Combined Presentation and Reading Mode Information Display

Presentation Mode vs. Reading Mode

When displaying information, such as articles, on an electronic devicetwo distinct modes can be used.

A presentation mode typically consists of slides. Each slide containssome information and stands out on its own. One moves through thepresentation by moving from slide to slide. The navigation is madesimple by not needing to position each slide when reading; rather eachslide occupies the entire display and is formatted to fit well in thedisplay. A simple gesture, such as a button press or finger swipe,navigates the user to the next slide. In presentation mode there is nocontinuity, each slide is presented, typically occupying the entiredisplay, and is whole in terms of content and self standing.

In a reading mode, that is typically employed by Web sites presented ina Web browser. Continuous information is displayed and the user cannavigating by continuously scrolling down the display. Continuousscrolling provides continuity in the information presentation, the usernever loses context of what was before what is on the screen and can seewhat is next. This display mode, however, lacks the visual impact of aslide mode. That is, the information can not be accurately positionedand laid out on the screen because it continuously scrolls. It alsolacks the simplicity of a discrete event to move from slide to slide.Rather, the user is left with the burden of positioning the informationon screen.

Accordingly, an embodiment of the invention provides a way to get thebest of both worlds, a slide mode in a continuous scroll readingdisplay. This is achieved in two steps:

1. A layout step identifies information units. These are groups ofinformation items that relate to each other and which would be logicalto display together. These information units are then laid out in such away as to occupy screen full units as much as possible.

2. A presentation step which consists of a scrolling display and a smartsnapping of the scroll position to logical location in the informationunit display. In this way, the presentations appears as if the device isguessing what unit the user is looking at and positioning thatinformation unit optimally on the screen.

Information Unit Identification

An information unit consists of items in the underlying text that can begrouped together, such as an image and its caption, paragraphs of textin the same text section or subsection, a title and its sub-title,author info, etc.

Information Unit Layout

When deciding on the layout of the unit, the screen size is brought intoconsideration. Some elements in the unit, such as photos, can typicallybe scaled and presented at several sizes. Other units, such as text,tend to have more of a fixed size, but their size can be controlledindirectly by setting the text column width, spacing between columns,spacing between paragraphs, etc.

When a unit has a photo and text, if the photo can be reduced in sizesuch that the entire text that relates to it fits the screen, togetherwith the image, the image is scaled down. The image is only scaled downup to a minimum presentation size. If the minimum size is not sufficientso that the text and image fit the screen together, the image ispresented in the maximum scaling. This makes the unit fit an entirescreen if possible, thus preserving an appealing visual impact by notdown scaling images too much, and only scaling them down if by doing sothe added benefit of having the text associated with it be visible inits entirety on-screen.

Presentation Snapping

When the user scrolls, a physics engine is used to move the screen andprovide more realistic feedback. Using a physics engine in scrolling iscommon practice today and was pioneered by Apple in the iOS operatingsystem on the iPhone. Usage of the physics system enables setting snappoint, i.e. modifying the calculated target end points of the physicsengine to more meaningful positions in the information flow, thusproviding a natural snap feeling.

The target position of the scroll rest is set to the start ofinformation unit, thus when the user flicks his finger on the screen,the scroll stops with an information unit at the top of the screen. Dueto the layout the information unit fills the screen if possible. Whenthe user continuously drags the scroll view, it is positioned where theuser moved it to, providing a continuous scroll experience similar toregular scrolling presentations. No snapping is performed in this case.

Distinguishing between when to do snapping and when not to do snappingprovides both the presentation feel, positioning the information feed atexact information units on the screen, and the continuousreading/scrolling feel enabling the user to position the informationfeed where he wants. When an information unit is too large to fit anentire screen, snapping positions inside the information unit are used,based on the structure of the information unit.

Examples are:

Top of a photo;

Top of a text description; and

Any break in a text description, such as sections, paragraphs, etc.

These in-information unit breaks are not used when the information unitfits inside the screen. This gives a slide feeling to the informationpresentation.

FIGS. 11 a-11 f are screen shots that show pages as displayed withsnapping (FIGS. 11 a and 11 b) and smart layout (FIG. 11 c) according tothe invention. It can be seen that snapping provides a coherent andgraceful transition between displays unit, i.e. pages, while smartlayout provides a more proportional and balanced presentation of imagesand text relative to each other.

In contrast, FIG. 11 d is a screen shot that shows scrolling withoutsnapping between the pages shown in FIGS. 11 a and 11 b; FIG. 11 e is ascreen shot that shows scrolling without snapping between the page shownin FIGS. 11 b and 11 c; and FIG. 11 f is a screen shot that showsdisplay of the page of FIG. 11 c without the smart layout. As can beseen, page transitions are awkward and nonsensical without the use ofsnapping, and here is no way to fit both the photo and itscaption/referring text in the same screen without the use of smartlayout.

Computer Implementation

FIG. 12 is a block schematic diagram of a machine in the exemplary formof a computer system 1600 within which a set of instructions for causingthe machine to perform any one of the foregoing methodologies may beexecuted. In alternative embodiments, the machine may comprise orinclude a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, personaldigital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a Web appliance or anymachine capable of executing or transmitting a sequence of instructionsthat specify actions to be taken.

The computer system 1600 includes a processor 1602, a main memory 1604and a static memory 1606, which communicate with each other via a bus1608. The computer system 1600 may further include a display unit 1610,for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT).The computer system 1600 also includes an alphanumeric input device1612, for example, a keyboard; a cursor control device 1614, forexample, a mouse; a disk drive unit 1616, a signal generation device1618, for example, a speaker, and a network interface device 1628.

The disk drive unit 1616 includes a machine-readable medium 1624 onwhich is stored a set of executable instructions, i.e., software, 1626embodying any one, or all, of the methodologies described herein below.The software 1626 is also shown to reside, completely or at leastpartially, within the main memory 1604 and/or within the processor 1602.The software 1626 may further be transmitted or received over a network1630 by means of a network interface device 1628.

In contrast to the system 1600 discussed above, a different embodimentuses logic circuitry instead of computer-executed instructions toimplement processing entities. Depending upon the particularrequirements of the application in the areas of speed, expense, toolingcosts, and the like, this logic may be implemented by constructing anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having thousands of tinyintegrated transistors. Such an ASIC may be implemented withcomplementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), transistor-transistorlogic (TTL), very large systems integration (VLSI), or another suitableconstruction. Other alternatives include a digital signal processingchip (DSP), discrete circuitry (such as resistors, capacitors, diodes,inductors, and transistors), field programmable gate array (FPGA),programmable logic array (PLA), programmable logic device (PLD), and thelike.

It is to be understood that embodiments may be used as or to supportsoftware programs or software modules executed upon some form ofprocessing core (such as the CPU of a computer) or otherwise implementedor realized upon or within a machine or computer readable medium. Amachine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form readable by a machine, e.g., acomputer. For example, a machine readable medium includes read-onlymemory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media;optical storage media; flash memory devices; electrical, optical,acoustical or other form of propagated signals, for example, carrierwaves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.; or any other type ofmedia suitable for storing or transmitting information.

Although the invention is described herein with reference to thepreferred embodiment, one skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat other applications may be substituted for those set forth hereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.Accordingly, the invention should only be limited by the Claims includedbelow.

1. An apparatus, comprising: a processor configured for browseraccessible presentation of content; and said processor configured forpresenting a slide mode in a continuous scroll reading display, saidpresenting facility identifying information units comprising groups ofinformation items that relate to each other and which are logicallydisplayed together, wherein said information units are laid out tooccupy screen full units as much as possible; wherein when aninformation unit comprises both a photo and text; wherein when the photocan be reduced in size such that the entire text that relates to it fitsa display, together with the photo, then the photo is scaled down;wherein, in such case, the photo is only scalable down up to a minimumpresentation size; and wherein when the minimum size is not sufficientso that the text and image fit the display together, the photo ispresented in a maximum scaling.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising: said processor providing a scrolling display and a smartsnapping of a scroll position to a logical location in an informationunit display; and a physics engine, wherein when the user scrolls, saidphysics engine moves a screen containing an information unit on thedisplay in connection with a snap point, wherein a target position of ascroll rest is set to a start of an information unit, wherein a scrollstops with an information unit at the top of an information unit screenin response to a user flick motion to make the information unit fill thescreen if possible, and wherein when the user continuously drags ascroll view, the information unit is positioned within the screen towhere the user dragged it to provide a continuous scroll experience. 3.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said content comprises at least onephoto stream comprising a plurality of formally consistent photos, eachsaid photo comprising at least one object within a predetermined objectcategory.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: saidprocessor configured to arrange said content in categorical collections.5. An apparatus, comprising: a processor configured for browseraccessible presentation of content; and said processor configured forpresenting a slide mode in a continuous scroll reading display, saidpresenting facility identifying information units comprising groups ofinformation items that relate to each other and which are logicallydisplayed together, wherein said information units are laid out tooccupy screen full units as much as possible; wherein when aninformation unit comprises both a photo and text; said processorproviding a scrolling display and a smart snapping of a scroll positionto a logical location in an information unit display; and a physicsengine, wherein when the user scrolls, said physics engine moves ascreen containing an information unit on the display in connection witha snap point, wherein a target position of a scroll rest is set to astart of an information unit, wherein a scroll stops with an informationunit at the top of an information unit screen in response to a userflick motion to make the information unit fill the screen if possible,and wherein when the user continuously drags a scroll view, theinformation unit is positioned within the screen to where the userdragged it to provide a continuous scroll experience.
 6. The apparatusof claim 5, further comprising: wherein when the photo can be reduced insize such that the entire text that relates to it fits a display,together with the photo, then the photo is scaled down; wherein, in suchcase, the photo is only scalable down up to a minimum presentation size;and wherein when the minimum size is not sufficient so that the text andimage fit the display together, the photo is presented in a maximumscaling.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said content comprises atleast one photo stream comprising a plurality of formally consistentphotos, each said photo comprising at least one object within apredetermined object category.
 8. The apparatus of claim 5, furthercomprising: said processor configured to arrange said content incategorical collections.